Robert Suvajac came across a giant turtle near Zadar and immediately called for help. Veterinarian Marin Mirčeta warns against attempting to free it alone and hopes for new reports from citizens.
An incredible sight greeted Robert Suvajac while diving near Zadar. Instead of the usual marine calm, a massive loggerhead sea turtle appeared before him, made even more striking by fishing nets wrapped around its neck and flippers. The encounter was so impressive that he immediately sought help.
"I dove and saw a shadow. When I turned, I realized it was a huge creature in front of me, a giant loggerhead turtle. I've never seen one so big in my life. It looked even larger because of the fishing nets wrapped around its neck and flippers. I immediately surfaced, went ashore, and called 112,"
Suvajac recounted for Slobodna Dalmacija. The exact location where the animal was spotted is not being disclosed to protect it from curious onlookers.
Suvajac got the impression that the turtle was trying to reach the shore, almost as if seeking help. However, without the proper equipment and aware that he didn't know how much damage the net had already caused, he decided not to intervene on his own. He left it to experts to assess its condition, although he initially doubted its chances of survival.
"Its body was in the water, head out. It didn't seem like it could move well, so I called for help. I hope everything will be okay with it,"
he added.
The authorities informed Zadar veterinarian Marin Mirčeta about the case. Since he doesn't have his own boat, he asked traffic police to keep an eye on the area during their patrols. He also issued an important warning to all citizens.
"Unfortunately, at this moment it's technically impossible to search for it. It disappears in a second and reappears somewhere else, so it's impossible to track it down," Mirčeta explained for Slobodna Dalmacija, emphasizing that any attempt to remove the net on your own can be dangerous because the turtle has enough strength to pull a person into the depths.
Experts can now only wait. "Now we can only wait for a new report and hope that a boat will be nearby so we can go out immediately. Then we'll either secure it to remove the nets and check for any damage to its body, or catch it and hand it over to experts for care," Mirčeta explained.
Although he admits that this situation isn't immediately fatal, he stresses that the animal's quality of life is severely compromised. "It can live like this for a long time, but it won't be a quality life," he warned. If it is caught and assessed to need human care, the nearest sanctuary is on Lošinj, where they are currently caring for four turtles. This is a strictly protected species throughout the Mediterranean, particularly sensitive to the impacts of fishing, climate change, and entanglement in fishing gear.
